Wire rope and method of making the same



Nov. l, 1932. R. D. GREEN L8359821' WIRE ROPE AND METHOD` OF, MAKING THE SAME l Filed oct. 3, 1931 @l 15 f7 el 1A 14- 4 UNFOJRMED l UNFORMED g` lJVEm'oR BY @ATTORNEYS 'VM 'Af "Vf-Lw Wj Patented Nov. 1, 1932 umrsa STATES PAraN'r 'osi-*ica RICHARD DUANE GREEN, OIE TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR'TO JOHN A. ROEBLINGE SONS COMPANY, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY,

A CORPORATION F NEW JERSEY l WIRE ROPE AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAME Application led October 3, 1931. Serial No. 566,648.

This invention relates to wire rope and to methods for making the same; the especial object of this invention being to provide an improved Wire rope adapted for 'general operating service and securing safety in use by disclosing promptly any breakage of Wires.

Operating service conditions to which Wirev rope may be subjected vary greatly. For example, a rope sometimes must operate at slow speed, under extremely high tenslon and fbending over sheaves and drums of large diameter. Or thespeed may be eX- tremely high, the tension may be moderate or loW and the sheaves or drums may have small or medi-um diameters land these conditions are Capable .of many combinations.- It would be impracticable to provide separate ropes for each possible operating condition, and it is important that the rope itself when placed inservice should readjust its manuactured condition to fit its operating conditions.V

In the manufacture of the ordinary standard wire rope, a plurality of substantially straight Wires are laid up helically on a central core to form a strand and a plurality of such straight strands are laid up helically `on a core to form the finished rope. The

rope so formed is capable of accommodating itself readily to various operating or service conditions. This can readily be seen when it isconsidered that in 'such standard ropes the Wires in the ,strands and the strands in the ropes are not formed to definite permanent helices so that the Wires and strands readjust themselves, that is, assume'proper relative positions for equalizing stresses and strains.

Rope manufactured according lto this standard method has the disadvantage that inequalities in the wire tensions or strand tensions when closed into rope, or inequalities in size and hardness of the center, though not occurring together Aat any given section, tend to concentrate at one point during the course of readjustment. 'Such inequalities have been found to travel a considerable length of rope and concentrate at thesamepoinn with the resultl that rapid deterioration 'with conthat is,

sequent short rope life takes place, lWhich' would not occur if such concentration of these inequalities were prevented.

' A second method of manufacture has been employed, that of the helically formed wire and strand. With this method, the individual Wires are formed into permanent helices of the form desired and laid about the core to form straight strands, after which the straight strands themselves are formed into permanent helices and laid about a core to form the linished rope. strands may be formed to helices of substantially the form they possess in the completed strand or rope, but preferably are formed 'to a helix having a slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the cores, so that the Wires i-n the strands and the strands in the rope have a tendency tohug the cores. Thev strands only may be formed into permanent helices .before or in laying them up, the strands being of standard construction, and in multiple layer rope only the strands at the outer layer or layers may be thus formed into permanent helices before or in laying them up.

lWith constructions under the second -such strand or rope, especiall in rope in which the strands consist o wires thus The wires and Vals fprmed to permanent helices, is thata broken.i wire or strand does not yspring-.out from the 'core,-and this means of immediate detection of broken wires Orstrands is lost, with consequent dan er ofthe continued use of a'rope too vveak or the load, which may, result 1n serious accident, as for instance, 1n elevator service. I

This defect as tosafety exists, also, in wire strand or rope made under previous methods combining the two methods above described,

throughout into vpermanent hlices before or in laying them up, and combining suc h wires 0r strands with wires or strands not formed forming some of the wires or strands or strands into helices before la than that of my into permanent helices; rope into longitudinal sections, some sections being made by forming all the wires or strands throughout such sections into. permanent helices beforev or in laying them up, and other sections being made by the standard construction of not forming any of the wires g ing, as in'my prior Patent No.v1,777,117, eptember 30, In accordance withthe present invention, the strandpr rope is formed in sections, some or all of which have wires or strands formed into permanent helices before or in-laying them up, but each of such sections having formed wires or strands has also unformed tion permitting adjustment for operating conditions and into permanent helices before or in laying so as to avoid travel ofirregularities such wires or strands. In laying up the strand or rope, such,sections of previously formed wires or strands will not be laid in the same longitudinal sections of the strand or rope and thus all sections of the final strand' or rope having formed wires or strands will have some of standard construction.

It usually and manufacture that the. sections of strand or rope above described shall alternate throughout the strand or rope' without any sections of standard construction, 'but' in some cases it may be desirable toprovide sections wholly of standard construction, that is, having no wires or strands formed with permanent helices before or in laying-them up. This will-depend upon the operating conditions under which Vthe strand or rope is to .be used. 4

This new construction, in either form above described, will secure a better result prior Patent No. 1,777,117 in respect to adjusting itself to operating conditions and avoiding the disadvantage of the travel and concentration of inequalities, and. has the further important feature that every part of the length kof thef strand or rope has unformed wires or strands present to indicate the ropes condition, instead of C3 having some sections consisting only of wires or'l by dividing the` or standard construction wires or strands, andl enabling- Athe detection of showing breakage by lthe springing out of a broken wire or strand, A and partially of wires or strands formed through will be found preferable in use i purposes, and the reverse o f standards sections A', A2,'whi'ch are made by.

or strands formed into permanent helices before or in laying them up,which sections would be without Awires or strands giving deztinitel indication of the ropes deterioration by the springing outof wires or strands.

The length of the different sections may be varied as desired, inY accordance with the operating 4conditions under which the strand or rope is to be used, and in lstrand or ropel containing sections of wholly standard construction the sections containing wires or strands formed to permanent hehces may be quite short relatively to the standard sections for rope of some types and for some for other types In forming wire rope or other purposes.

also, '-the rope may be under the invention,

formed of strands laid up in accordance with the present invention, but the strands themselves being of the usual standard construction, my y tance-in connection with the strands forming the rope.

of constructions and them will now be vdescribed in detail and the features 'forming the invention then specifically pointed out in the claims.

In thedrawing:

Figure 1 is an outside view of a single layer-,wire rope, consisting of six strands with core; Y n

Figure 2 is a cross-section'of the same on an enlarged-scale,

The drawing illustrates preferred forms.y embodiment of the Vinvention'and these, the method of making invention being of special .impor-v showing the strands as' .formed of n1ne wires 'with core,.-

Fio'ure .3 is a .view similar to Figure'l,

showlng ,the preferred construction of the strand inthe rope IFigures 4 and 5 are views similar to Figuresl and 3,

to 3, the rope shown is made up of a plurality and each of these strands is composed of a plurality of individual wires 7-15 laid up 011 a central core y. The rope and strands are shown' as made up of a number of alternate forming some of the strands into permanent helices before or in layin them up on core with strands of standar tion.

As shown, section Ais madeof strands 1, 3, 5, formed to permanent helices, and the al'- ternate s trandsQ, 4, 6 unformed, and in section-A2, the construction of these strands is reversed, strands 1, 3, 5 being unformed and strands 2, 4,6 formed, but it will be understood that this arrangement as tothe number and position of the for-med and unormed strands maybe varied. The sections Aand showing a, modified form withI sections wholly of standard construction'.

eferring now particularly to Figures 14 ,J1-6 surrounding a central core of Figures 1 and 2; and

construction in each seceach other, depending upon the type of rope desired. The strands, also, preferabl formed by the same construction, and t is is illustrated in., Figure 3 in connection with strand 1 of the rope. Asl shown, strand v1 has sections 1 with wires 7, 9, 11, 13,15 formed and the others unformed and-this arrangement is reversed in section 1b, Wires 7,

9, 11, 13, 15, being unformed and wires. 8,

10, 12, 14 formed. The length ofthe sections erating conditions. Arope constructed in acof the strands and th alternating arrangement of formed and unformed wires therein is shown as the same as that o f the strands in the rope, butneither of these features is essential.- i*

In Figures 4 and 5, I have shown constructions similar to those of Figures 1 to 3 except that between the sections 'A,`A2 oi the rope are sections A3 wholly of standard-construction, and between the vsections 1a and 1b of the strands are sections 1" of standard construction.- The length of these Sections ofl standard constructionand of the other sec# tions w1ll be varied as desired, in accordance with the characteristics and use of the rope.'

' With the rope so constructed, it has been found that the readjustment of the wires in. the strands and of the strands in the rope to compensate for various operating conditions is fully secured2 while' the sections in which some of the wires and strands have been formed into permanent helices before or-in laying prevent the traveling of inequalities, and that a rope constructed in accordance with this inventionis well suited for all op'- cordance with the foregoing method is especially desirable for elevator cables or similar uses where itis important that a break in the Wires or strands be apparent upon inspection of thecable.

The invention has been illustrated as apf.

plied in connection with. a single layer rope, but it will be understood that it is equally applicable to multiple layer strands or ropes. In such strands or ropes, it is most im ortant, of course, thatthe outer. layer shou d have the lstandard Wiresv or strands throughout the sections fortell-tales and such multiple layer strand or rope maybe made with only the y outer layer of such construction. It is preferable, however, to use the same construction onthe inner layer or layers, also, so as to geta uniformaction of the different layers and aid in 'accommodating dierent Aoperating conditions and lpreventing travel of irregularities.

It will be understoodv that the invention is not limited to the particular constructions or arrangements ofvwires or strands shown and described, but that many modifications may be made Within the invention defined by the.

claims.

What I claim is: y v 1. The method of making stranded Wire are ' structure ofthe class referred'to `vvhich comprises forming the components into permanent helices throughout portions of their length and laying themto form the wire structure in sections: longitudinally of the -structurewith some. or the components thus ormedand some unformed in the same section.

2? The method of makin stranded wire structure of the class referre to which comprises forming the components into permanent helices "throughout portions of their length and laying them to form the structure in alternate sections longitudinally of the structure, with some of the components thus formed and some Vunformed in each section.

3. The method of making stranded Wire 'structure of the class referred to which coinprises forming some of the Wire components into permanent helices throughout portions of their length and laying them'w'ith components not formed into permanent helices to longitudinally of the structure with some ofthe sections having some of the components thus formedand some unformed and other sections having none of thecomponents thusformed.

4. The method of making wire rope which comprises forming strands into permanent helices'throughout portions of their length and laying'them to form the rope in sections longitudinally of the yrope with`some of. the strands thus formed and -the same section. f

5. The method of i making wire strandl longitudinally of the strand with some Wires thus formed and some uniformed in the same Section, forming the 'strands -into permanent helices throughout portions of their length and laying them to form the rope in sections longitudinally of the rope with some strands thus formed and some unformed in the same section. y v

7.' The Vmethod of making Wire rope which comprises forming some of the Wires into A permanent helices throughout portions of their length and. laying them into strands with wires not so' formed to form the strands in sections longitudinally of the strand with some unorrned in form the stranded 'Wire structure in sections los which rac some of the wires 'thus formed and s'ome un; l

formed in 'some sections and no Wires thus VAformed in other sections, and forming some of the strands into permanent helices .throughout portions of'their length and laying them 20 formed into into rope with strands not formed into permanent helices to form the rope in sections longitudinally of the rope, with some of the strands thus formed and some uniformed 'in :5| some sections and no strands thus formed in other sections. v

8. A continuous stranded Wire structure of the class referred to formed in sections longitudinally of the structure and having some of its Wire components formed into permanent helices throughout only portions of their length, some of the sections containing Wire components formed into permanent helices Within said sections and other comn; ponents not so formed Within said sections. 9. A continuous stranded Wirestructure of the class referred to, formed of alternating sections longitudinally of the structure and having some of its Wire vcomponents permanent helices throughout only portions of their length,-each of said sectlons comprising some components formed v into permanent helices within said sections and other components not so formed Within said sections. i

10. A continuous stranded Wire structure of the class referred to, formed of alternating sections longitudinally of the structure,

1 each of said components being formed into permanent helices throughout portions of its length and said components being' so laid together that eachv of said structure sections comprises gsome components vformed into permanent helices and other components not so formed. 11. A continuous stranded wire structure of the class referred to, formed in sections llongitudinally of the structure, some of said sections consisting of components not formed 540 into permanent helices, and othersections comprising some components formed into permanent helices and othercomponents not so formed.

' 12. A continuous stranded wire structure of the class referred to,'formed in sections -longitudinall of the structure, some of the components helices throughout portions of't'heir len h and said components being so laid "'toget er -with components not so said isections consist of components' not eing formed into permanent formed, all the strands of the rope having..

portions of their length formed into permanent helices andother portions not so formed.

15:- A continuous Wire rope formed in sections longitudinally of the rope, some of said sections consisting 'of strands not formed into permanent helices and other sections comprising some strands formed into permanenthelices and other strands not so formed.

16. A continuous wire rope formed in sections longitudinally of the rope, solne of said sections comprising some strands formed into permanent helices and other strandsnotso formed, each of said strands in sections longitudinally of the strand, some of said strand sections comprising some wires formed into permanent helices and some Wires not so formed.

17. A continuous Wire rope formed in sections longitudinally of the rope; some of said sections comprising some strands formed into ermanent helices Aand other strands not so ormed, each of said strands being formed in sections longitudinally of the strand, some of said strand sections comprising some wires formed into per anent helices and some wires not so formed, the strands of the rope and the wires of the strands having portions of their length formed into ermanent helices and other portions not so ormed.

In testimony whereof,.I have' hereunto set my hand.

RICHARD VDUANE GREEN.

formedthat some of formed intopermanent helices, and other sections comprlse some components formed into permanent helices and other components not 55 so formed.

13. A continuous wire rope formed in s ec tions longitudinally of the` rope and having some of its strands formed into permanent helices throughout only portions of W'their length, some of said sections comprising some strands formed into permanent helices within said sections and not so formedwithin said sections.

14. A continuous wire rope formed in sec- 05 tions'longitudinally of the rope, some of lsaid other strands so being formed ion 

